Gruppem untouchable in Suzuka enduro

INTERCONTINENTAL GT CHALLENGE SUZUKA (J) AUGUST 26 ROUND 3/4 As the Gruppem Mercedes-amg GT3 led 222 of the Suzuka 10 Hours’ 276 laps en route to victory, it’s little wonder that one third of its driver line-up, Tristian Vautier, described the race as “flawless”.

Not only did Vautier and team-mates Raffaele Marciello and Maro Engel sit pretty by 31.6 seconds at the flag, but second for Strakka Racing’s sister car underlined Mercedes’ strength.

The Ferrari 488 GT3 of polesitter Nick Foster maintained its position during the opening stint. But a grid infringement earned the car a penalty before the first hour was out. From there, Gruppem inherited the lead and never looked backed. The only fly in a jar of otherwise pleasant ointment was a brief and costless fire during the final stop, courtesy of a hot exhaust.

Vautier wasn’t surprised by the incident, however, anticipating that victory wouldn’t be offered up on a plate. “It was flawless and actually felt like it was going too well at one point – something had to happen,” he said. “It was perfect execution from the team.”

Strakka’s Lewis Williamson, Maxi Gotz and Alvaro Parente joined Gruppem on the podium. They remained less than 10s adrift of Gruppem up until the penultimate set of stops. But Marciello found an extra burst of speed to pull clear. Christopher Haase, Markus Winkelhock and Kelvin van der Linde’s Absolute Racing Audi R8 was quick, but had to settle for third.

Team WRT’S similar car was fourth, ahead of an entertaining final-hour scrap for fifth between the Good Smile Mercedes and the lead Bentley Continental GT GT3 of M-sport. Williams Formula 1 young driver Oliver Rowland was seventh in the Strakka AMG he shared with Adrien Tambay and Maxi Buhk.

The sole Mclaren of Ben Barnicoat, Andrew Watson and Come Ledogar failed to make it past the three-hour mark after a crash at Suzuka’s infamous and high-speed 130R left-hander.